


Sweater Thief

by geekbaits



Series: Roommates AU [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, MaKorra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 22:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8772367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekbaits/pseuds/geekbaits
Summary: Companion piece to Not Bad. Prompt: Mixed up laundry





	

**Author's Note:**

> I started out with that idea in mind…but I was also watching “The Spirit of Competition” at the same time and this project kinda spiraled out of control into what we have here. This is a companion piece to Not Bad.

Mako thanked his lucky stars that his and Korra’s dorm room came with a washer and dryer set. The university was accepting more students every year, and so finding the time and the room to do one’s laundry was becoming more of a chore than anything else. Mako remembered his first year living in the Beifong building down the street; there were so many freshmen and upperclassmen crammed into the six-floor building that Mako would actually go _weeks_ without seeing the laundry room.

No, that year, he added “can hand wash own laundry” to his list of can-dos.

Now, despite the fact that he was _so_ fucking happy he had his own unit in the comforts of his room, where he didn’t have to keep a close eye on his laundry or constantly check the mobile app for machine vacancies in the building, he still had a problem.

Their unit was a black hole; every time Mako put a load in, _something_ would turn up missing. It was understandable if a sock or a handkerchief disappeared somewhere between meticulously sorting out the dirty laundry and pulling it out of the dryer; those were the small things, but _hoodies_? _Shirts_?

Somebody was stealing Mako’s shit and he needed to get to the bottom of this.

One afternoon, after working another grueling five-hour shift at the university gym, Mako hauled his heavy body up to room 212. Thankfully, the floor was silent, which either meant that Korra was either binge watching another series on Netflix—she had recently started on an anime rampage, having finished three series during the weekend—at class, or tearing up some gym equipment (though Mako doubted the last option since the girl _loved_ to bother him whenever she came to work out with Asami, her best friend.)

The first thing Mako did when he entered his apartment-style suite was check the dryer. He had emptied a load in before he left to start the day; Korra only washed her clothes on Thursdays, so leaving them in the dryer after they were finished wasn’t a problem.

The hinges of the old machine groaned in protest as Mako pried the door open.

A quick inventory of its contents revealed that the clothes snatcher had gotten their grubby little hands on one of his fluffy sweaters.

Mako frowned; his grandmother knitted that for him last month.

Who could possibly be responsible for this? Mako racked his brains, trying to search for an answer. Nobody ever visited their apartment, other than Asami, but she was with Korra the whole time, so that would—

“Oh, you’re back already, Mako.”

–of course.

‘ _Korra._ ’ Mako performed a crisp about face, whipping in the direction of his totally guilty roommate. There, leaning against the doorframe, was Mako’s roommate wearing his missing sweater. Mako felt his breath leave him all at once.

He’d been struggling the entire semester with the fact that his roommate, the tough, rough, buff powerhouse _Korra_ , was a _bombshell_. Seriously. Of all the annoyances Mako had to deal with this semester, hiding his attraction to his dark-haired, blue-eyed roommate was probably the biggest annoyance of all.

Typically, he could brush her off or tell her to go away, but with the girl standing their wearing _his_ clothes…

His self-control was waning with every passing day.

“How was work?”

“You’re wearing my sweater,” he deadpanned in an attempt to appear unimpressed.

Korra observed the garment in question briefly before shrugging.

“It was cold, and I was too lazy to go back into my room to look for something, so I just yanked this out of the dryer.”

Mako sighed, glaring nastily at the girl.

She grinned slyly and wrapped her arms around herself, “Oh, don’t be cranky. It looks better on me, anyway.”

“Better on _you_?” he spat. His subconscious agreed fervently, but was quickly smacked down. “Get over yourself.”

“I’m just being honest,” she said, crossing the room to join Mako by the dryer.

“You’re crazy!” he bit out. Korra laughed, continuing her quick strides across the room.

“You’re a liar.”

 The dangerous glimmer that shone in her eyes made him uneasy; he swallowed audibly and hastily took a step back. Korra’s predatory grin widened, she stepped closer. The pair continued this cycle of advance, retreat, advance, retreat until Mako’s back hit the wall of their dorm room.

His heart was sprinting as his breaths came out in short huffs. What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn’t what he was expecting to happen. This was _Korra_. She was supposed to be his annoying roommate, not this stupid, beautiful, loony girl who made him dinner when he didn’t ask for it and made him stay up all night with her to binge watch Fullmetal Alchemist and stole his ugly fluffy grandma sweaters while insisting that she looked better in it. None of this made sense.

Her hands reached out, wrapping warm, calloused fingers around Mako’s wrists. He was trapped.

Mako was trapped by Korra and he _knew_ it.

Korra smiled that same stupid smile she gave whenever she wanted to catch Mako off guard. The effect of it worked.

With his head clearly disconnected from the rest of his body, he could only watch as she came closer to him, pressing the softness of her curves against his hard frame. His face erupted into flames, spreading all the way from the tips of his ears to the back of his neck. Everything was unbearably hot.

Korra stood on the tips of her toes and pushed herself up to properly look at Mako.

“Admit it. You like me.”

Did he like her?

Absolutely, but did Korra need to hear it? Did she _really_ need him to verify that he was so pathetically infatuated with her?

‘ _Oh fuck it.’_

“You’re so damn annoying,” Mako snapped, moving his hands to grip Korra’s. Her eyes flew open in surprise, but she didn’t move back, wanting Mako to continue. “You play your shitty music too loudly, and you always make me stay up into the early morning because you need someone to watch your stupid anime with. You’re stubborn and impulsive and you never know when to quit. You’re always so quick to get mad and you never want to listen when someone tries to correct you.”

Mako stopped to briefly appreciate the dazed look in Korra’s eyes. For once, the girl was _speechless_. He felt his lips twitch into a small smile before continuing, his tone lacking the venom from before. Mako’s heart thudded heavily in his chest as he continued, the pounding sound loud against his eardrums. The full force of Korra’s gaze was still turned upon Mako and more blood flooded to his cheeks.

God, this was so _embarrassing_ , but Korra insisted on it and her mouth was shut tightly, so—

“What I’m trying to say is: as much as you drive me crazy, I also think you’re pretty amazing.”

“So, you do like me?” Korra asked hopefully.

The girl who gazed into his eyes wasn’t exactly the same as before. With wide eyes glued onto Mako’s, he could sense her sudden caution at the recent series of events. It was embarrassing talking about this stuff, but Mako knew she wouldn’t drop it until he told her point blank. He also knew that if she thought he was joking with her, she’d punch him in the face and not speak to him for the rest of the semester.

His answer eagerly slipped from his lips, “Yes, I—”

He moved to say more, but was silenced at the feel of soft, warm lips pressing against his own. Korra threw herself at Mako, frantically closing the distance between the two of them. Mako felt his back hit the wall Korra had trapped him against, but stood still once he realized what was going on. He surrendered to his primal urges and, wrapping two strong arms around Korra’s smaller frame, he pulled her against his body again, pressing heated kisses against Korra’s lips.

They separated moments later, when neither had anymore breath to continue.

The room was quiet with only the sounds of their mingled breaths to punctuate the heated air. Korra tucked her head underneath Mako’s chin, harshly panting against the column of his throat.

“I _knew_ it,” she said at last. “I fucking knew it. Mako, life is so much easier when you’re honest with your feeli— _mmph!_ “

Mako, having heard enough of her smug lectures, yanked her up to his face again. He kissed her slowly, feeling rather triumphant at how easily she melted in his arms. When they broke apart again, Mako was pleased to see that Korra was blushing darkly.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smirked.

“You’re still annoying,” he said. Korra grinned widely and leaned forward to plant a chaste kiss on Mako’s lips.

“Well, you still said that you like me, so it’s okay,” she disentangled herself from her lover’s hold and disappeared into the kitchen, “Now, what do you want for dinner?”

Mako rolled his eyes, slammed the door of the dryer, and threw himself on the couch in the living room. He quickly booted up Netflix and selected the episode of Fullmetal Alchemist they had left off at last night before answering Korra, who was already hard at work in the kitchen.

“Anything but sea prunes.” 

 


End file.
